Chicago Fire

Three generations of Chicago blues Greats blow a Windy City gust through decades of Rolling Stones songs on Chicago Plays the Stones. The all-star album - produced by three-time Grammy nominee Larry Skoller in partnership with the Chicago Blues Experience and inspired by the Chicago residency of the Rolling Stones' 54-year-spanning, world-touring exhibit Exhibitionism - plays like a swaggering answer to the Stones' Blue and Lonesome, but in fact was conceived prior to the Rolling Stones release.

The Kilborn Alley Blues Band is the real deal, a rip snortin', fire breathin' gang that puts heart and soul into every note they play. Gritty, raw, and a bit sloppy in the best sense of the word, they hold nothing back and play the blues with a nasty rock edge that will appeal to youngsters as well as die-hard fans. They kick things off with "I'm Spent," a Chicago-meets-the Delta rave-up with hints of Little Walter in the wailing harmonica work of Joe Asselin. Andrew Duncanson lays back on the lead guitar to deliver a sweaty lead vocal while Asselin's honking accents up the ante. "Christmas in County" has a Memphis soul feel, the sad tale of a Christmas Eve drug bust, with stinging lead guitar work from Duncanson and wailing harp from Asselin laid down over the sinister groove of Chris Breen's bass and Ed O'Hara's drums. "Come Home Soon" has a bit of Al Green in its arrangement, a sad tale of a soldier in Iraq longing for his family. Sideman Gerry Hundt's organ provides a churchy, sanctified vibe to the proceedings, complementing Duncanson's sparse, stinging guitar and weary vocal.

Three generations of Chicago blues Greats blow a Windy City gust through decades of Rolling Stones songs on Chicago Plays the Stones. The all-star album - produced by three-time Grammy nominee Larry Skoller in partnership with the Chicago Blues Experience and inspired by the Chicago residency of the Rolling Stones' 54-year-spanning, world-touring exhibit Exhibitionism - plays like a swaggering answer to the Stones' Blue and Lonesome, but in fact was conceived prior to the Rolling Stones release. They've been celebrating this music since the '60s, but the Rolling Stones really amped up their adulation of the songs and giants of Chicago blues with their acclaimed 2016 album Blue and Lonesome.